Development of the huggable social robot Probo. On the conceptual design and software architecture

A new generation of robots is being created to live among humans and become a nearlyubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives. These robots will be better accepted if theymeasure up to a certain standard of social interaction and human-like communication,achieving the label of ``social robot". No robot today can fulfill the role of a fully socialinteractive robot, but new research domains such as HRI (human-robot interaction) aregaining vastly more interest. In this context there is a strong need for robotic platformsthat support this HRI research.

This dissertation presents the design and software development of a huggable social robotnamed Probo. Probo embodies a stuffed imaginary animal, providing a soft touch and ahuggable appearance. Probo's purpose is to serve as a multidisciplinary research platformfor HRI focused on children. In terms of a social robot, Probo is classified as a socialinterface supporting non-verbal communication. Probo's social skills are thereby limitedto a reactive level. To close the gap with higher levels of interaction, an innovativesystem for shared control with a human operator is introduced. The software architecturedefines a modular structure to incorporate all systems into a single control center for theoperator. The robot reacts on basic input stimuli that it perceives during interaction withchildren. These stimuli will influence the robot's attention and emotional state, which arecommunicated by its gaze and facial expressions. To facilitate interaction with children,Probo has an identity and corresponding history. Safety is ensured through Probo's softembodiment and intrinsic safe actuation systems. Smooth life-like motions contribute tothe huggable robotic companion that Probo has become.